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There are two ways of spelling the schwa in the us sound when it falls at the end of a word: us and ous.
Fortunately there is an easy trick to help you remember when to use which spelling pattern:
The spelling pattern us is used for people, places, or things; like in the words cactus, fungus, or octopus.
The ous ending, on the hand, is used for descriptive words like poisonous, jealous, and enormous.
Adjectives ending in ous are commonly used in English to describe being full of or possessing the quality of a base word. For example, ambitious means being full of ambition and curious means possessing the quality of curiosity.
This word list was created by Spellzone. View more Spellzone course lists or curriculum word lists.
Learn more in Unit 29. Word ending: -ous
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